From HBV to HPV: Designing vaccines for extensive and intensive vaccination campaigns worldwide

HBsAg and HPV L1 proteins - the HBV and HPV antigens utilized in current vaccines - share amino acid sequences with human proteins such as cardiomyopathy-associated protein 5, titin, protein-arginine deiminase, E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase RNF19A, bassoon, G-protein coupled receptor for fatty acids, insulin isoform 2, and mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase 10, inter alia. Many shared peptides are also part of immunopositive epitopes. The data 1) support the possibility of crossreactions between the two viral antigens and human proteins that, when altered, may associate with neuropsychiatric, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases such as multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, diabetes, and sudden death; 2) confirm the concept that only vaccines based on sequences unique to pathogens might nullify potential crossreactivity risks in vaccination protocols.